


Caught

by yeaka



Category: Red Riding Hood (2011)
Genre: F/M, Vignette
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-06
Updated: 2019-10-06
Packaged: 2020-11-25 17:29:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 381
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20915858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yeaka/pseuds/yeaka
Summary: Valerie plays tag with the night.





	Caught

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don’t own Red Riding Hood or any of its contents, and I’m not making any money off this.

She slips between the trees with careful precision, darting behind each new trunk and flattening against it. For once, her red cloak’s been left behind—it’s much too bright and would easily give her away. Her tracks might do so anyway, except the snow is still falling, and the whole area is littered with crisscrossing paths from deer and wolves. Valerie wasn’t raised to be a hunter, but those skills are in her, and she employs each one expertly. She moves through the forest like a panther on the prowl. Her skin prickles with anticipation. Her eyes are wide, ears listening. She feels truly in tune with these woods and all their secrets, and she moves about them like she _belongs_ there.

She makes her way slowly up a short hill, the moon and stars streaming down between the branches to light her way. She could probably do this blindfolded. She knows her way around, and it shows. She manages to sneak past a burrowing squirrel without it even noticing her. 

She gets on all fours when she reaches the ridge. The snow soaks through her boots and the fabric of her dress, but Valerie’s used to the cold. She knows the fire’s waiting at home, and something better will be by to warm her soon. Although, she’s trying to avoid it. If she can make it home without encountering it, she’ll win a special prize. She’s at a disadvantage and she knows it, but that prize isn’t something she minds giving up if she does lose. 

She peers over the top of the hill, scanning the trees below. There’s nothing larger than a rabbit. She might be in the clear. She darts up, and a split second later, she’s knocked right back down.

Valerie hits the ground with a hard ‘oof,’ then goes rolling over, her body careening downhill, her hair catching under her and her entire face made damp with the impact. When she reaches the bottom, she lands on her back, and a heavy weight climbs atop her with two paws on her chest.

Those paws thin and lengthen, losing fur, and transform right before her eyes. Soon Peter’s looming over her, a cocky grin on his handsome features. He teases, “Gotcha,” and leans down to kiss her.


End file.
